Red tide affects shellfish beds on the North Shore and areas around Hull and the Outer Boston Harbor islands

Wednesday

May 27, 2009 at 12:01 AMMay 27, 2009 at 10:05 AM

Red tide has returned to local waters just in time for summer, causing shellfish bed closures from Salisbury to Hull.

Jon Chesto

Red tide has returned to local waters just in time for summer, causing shellfish closures from Salisbury to Hull.

The state Division of Marine Fisheries on Friday reacted to the arrival of a red tide bloom by putting in place shellfish harvesting closures in a wide swath of ocean waters and shoreline. The affected areas ranged from the New Hampshire border south to an area that includes the northeast tip of Hull and several Boston Harbor islands. So far, the rest of the South Shore hasn’t been affected.

All the new closures prevent the taking of surf clams, blue mussels, snails and sea scallops, with the exception of the scallop adductor muscle, in those areas. A closure involving a broader range of bivalve shellfish affects most of Cape Ann’s shellfish growing areas.

Regulators close the shellfish beds because if consumed the algae that causes red tide can be toxic to people. The shellfish sold at clam shacks and other restaurants will remain safe to eat, but the red tide could drive up prices by limiting the availability of shellfish.

The blooming of red tide algae in New England typically occurs off the coast of Maine every spring. But the impact of that bloom in Massachusetts waters varies from year to year, depending partly on spring weather conditions. A separate localized bloom in the Nauset marshes on Cape Cod regularly closes shellfish beds there.

Last year, a red tide bloom that closed shellfish beds from Salisbury to the Cape Cod Canal caused an estimated $1.2 million in damage to the state’s shellfish industry and affected an estimated 400 full- and part-time commercial fishermen and 35 shellfish farmers.

The Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting comments through June 12 on a plan to distribute funds that will compensate shellfishermen for their losses last year. The plan essentially relies on shellfish catch data for 2007, when there were relatively few shellfish bed closures.

Last year’s closures were still relatively minor compared with the closures caused by an unusually large outbreak in 2005.